Can-feeding apparatus



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G. D. LANIN G. GAN READING` APPARATUS.

No. 418,621'. Patented Deo. 31', 1889.

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G. 11. LANING. GAN EEEDING APPARATUS. 110,418,821.

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Patented Dee. 81, 1889.

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- GAN FBEDING APPARATUS. y

No.. 418,621'. Patented Dec. 3l. 1889.

@gina UNITEDv STATES@ PATENT FFICE.

GEORGE D. LANING, BRIDGETON, NEW JERSEY.

CAN-FEEDING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 41-8',621,`d3.te;1December 31, 1889.

Application filed July 3, ,1889. Serial No. 316,402. (No model.)

To all whom tm/ty concern: y Be it known that I, GEORGE D. LANING, of

Bridgeton, in the countyof Cumberland, and

in the State of New Jersey', have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Can- Feeding Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l shows, partlyin side elevation and partly in section, a can-filler provided with mycan-feeding mechanism; Fig. 2, a View of the feeder in front elevation,with the feedchute and receiving-table shown in section;

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and Eig. 3, a plan view of thefeeder with the partsin position as when acan is being filled.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of thefigures.

The object of my invention is to provide feeding mechanism i for feedingcans to caniilling machines; andto this end my invention consists in themechanism and in the construction, arrangement, and combination of theparts thereof, as hereinafter specified.

With can filling machines as heretofore made and operated it has beencustomary to feed the cans to the iiller by hand, an operator orattendant`- placing a can in position to be held by the machineduringthe filling operation and Vthen removing the filled can and replacing'it with an empty one.` In order to de away with this feeding andremoving of the cans by hand andtb` provide means for feeding the canscontinuously from a source of supply as needed by the machine, I haveinvented the mechanism to be described hereinafter, which, as willappear, can be operated either by a treadle actuated by the one runningthe filling-machine orby a cam orpother connection with such machine.

By the operation of a single piece,either by foot or by power, myfeeding mechanism will be caused to `feed thecans,'one at a time, intoplace for filling. The feeding action can be continued as long as thesupply of cans holds out, all that is` necessary to secure suchcontinuance of action being the repeated actuation of one piece.

In the drawings, A designates the cylinder, B the piston, and C thehopper, of the fillingmachine. These, as shown, are substantially thesame as those used inthe well-known Stevens form of filler now in use,and'need not be further described herein, as, so far as my invention isconcerned,`I do not limit myself toany' particular kind of fillingmechanf ism.

While my feeder is especially intended for use with ahorizontally-acting filler, as shown, it c an also be employed, withoutdeparture from my invention, with other filling devices. In front of theconical nozzle of the filler-cylinder A is the usual plate D, againstwhich the open-end of a can While being filled is to be clamped. Suchplate has the usual opening d for the passage of the can-fillingmaterial issuing from the cylinder-nozzle, and can be provided with thewell-known juicedraining openings or perforations around opening CZ, asin the Stevens machine. Attached to and extending out from such platebelow opening CZ are the two horizontal parallel arms d d', upon which acan rests when in` position for filling, and which may be madeadjustable, if desired, to suit the machine for different sizes of cans.

Pivoted to a suitable frame-work E E is a vertically-swinging lever F,having its upper end provided with a plate or head, adapted to engagethe bottom or closed outer end of a can resting on arms dd, so as tovforce and clamp the can closely in place with its open end against theplate D, around opening CZ therein. The lower endof such lever, beingextended at an angle to the upper'canclamping portion, is connected witha treadlelever G by means of a spring G, attached at opposite ends tothe two levers. A rod H, connected with the clamping -lever near springG, extends down through and plays in an openin g in the treadle-lever.is a shoulder or fixed collar H', adapted to be engaged by thetrcadle-lever as the latter rises, so that the clamping-lever will bepositively swung to take its upper end away from its clamping position.

On -such rod With the construction describedas the I treadle-levermoves' in one direction the clamping-lever'is thrown out of position toIOO Achute as the bar Lis raised and lowered.

position and hold it there, causing it to exert a strong though yieldingpressure upon a can to be or being filled.

As indicated hereinbefore, it has been customary to place the empty cansupon and remove the filled ones from the holder by hand. Instead of thisI provide feeding devices, operated at each motion of the lever F, toremove a can from and place another in position to be filled. For thispurpose I have an inclined trough or chute I, having its mouth or lowerend situated just above and to one side of the pair of bearing-arms d clfor supporting a can while being filled. Such trough extends in adirection substantially at right angles to the axis of a can resting onsaid supporting-arms, and is of such inclination .that any cans placedin it will tend to roll down it easily and freely. Its width issubstantially the same as or but slightly greater than the length of acan, so that any cans passing down within it will be guided by thetroughsides and cannot have any tendency lto-get into position withtheir axes at an an- :gle to suoli sides, so that the can ends lwill.bind orhave too much friction upon the latter.

In order to keep the cans down in place in the trough as they roll downthe same, I provide the upper edges of the trough sides withinwardly-extending lips I I', which can be formed of strips fastened tosuch-sides or lflanges or ribs formed thereon, as desired.

, -Guided in a tubular piece K, attached to thefeeding-mechanism-supporting frame below the canreceiving and supportingarms, is the `vertically-moving bar L, having on its -upper end thecross baror head L', extending in-a direction parallel to the axis of acan rolling down the chute or resting upon arms d d. Such cross bar orhead moves up and downpast the mouth or discharge end of the Itsupper-side is providedwith theinclined face L2, extending downward fromthe side toward the chute end, the angle of such incline being, asshown,substantially that of the chute-bottom, though I do not limitmyself to such construction. As the cross-bar L is raised above theplane of the chute-bottom, as shown in Fig. 2, it is adapted to act as astop to block the path of the cans rolling down the chute by engagingthe lowest one of the cans. Asit descends from this position it lets thepreviously-engaged can roll past it onto the arms (Z d in position to beclamped and filled. In order to prevent the other cans fronrrolling downs0 as to knock or force the released can out of its proper position onVsupporting-arms d el', it is necessary to provide some check or stop tohold them back as the bar L, with head L', is depressed. Such checkingdevice I show in my drawings and will now describe. The lower end of barL rests upon the lever G, and the bar and its cross-head are lnade heavyenough to make .sure of their descent as the leveris depressed.

With this construction the bar and head will rise and fall with thelever.

Swinging in a plane at right angles to the swing ot lever G is anotherlever M, having one end held in engagement with lever G by spring Mwhich, in drawing its lever M upward, also aids in returning lever G toits normal position after it has been depressed.

lonnected with the arm of lever M, which engages the lever G, is thelower end of the rod N, carrying on its upper end a cross-bar l. shapedlike that on bar L-that is, having an inclined face n extending in thedirection of the inclination of the chute-bottom. A slot or opening O,cut down the center of the chutebottom near its lower end, allows thehead or cross-bar N to be raised above and be brought below thechute-bottom .as the lever-arm to which rod N is attached'is raised o1'lowered. As such lever-arm -rses and falls with the lever G, which liftsand lets fall thebar L, it follows that the twocross bars or heads L andN will be raised up into andfbroughtbelowthepath of the lcans down theychute at the same time. The cross bars or heads are at such a distancefrom each other that when the one L is engaging and stopping the lowlestcan in the chute the other N is in position to similarly engage thesecond canin tle series.

By mygarrangem ent of feed-stop mechanism described and shown I amenabled to make sure that at no ytime will the -weight of the wholeseries of cans in the chute bebrought to bear upon the lowest can andthrough it upon the end stop. Vith the Astops in position,.as shown inFig. 2, the second stop-bar N engages the second can, and so holds itand the series of .cans back of and above it, so that they do not pressupon, and force the lowest can `against the stop-bar L. Zhen thestop-barsL and N descend and the bar P ascends, only one can (the secondone) rolls down with the rst or lowest one, so that the latter can isnot liable to be forced or carried too far, but rolls down gently intothe place where it is to be filled.

Vtfith my feed-stop mechanism I am enabled to use a lightspring-heldstop for the lowest can, instead of onev positively held andstrong enough. to stand the shock of the wholeseries of cans rollingdown the chute againstit as each can is allowed to take its ,positionforfilling.

The rod N, being pivotally connected with lever M, has-no tendency torotate, and so can be made round, as shown, and guided in alsimilarlyfshaped tubular bearing N2.

In order toA keep the rod L from turning so as to get its head L out ofposition .at right angles to the travel of the cans down the IOO IIO

held from rotation in any other desiredway without departure from myinvention.

Pivotally connected with the arm of lever,` M opposite to that withwhich rod N is connected is the rod P, having on its upper end a crossbar or head P, shaped ,just like thatl on the other rod and so situatedas to engage,

when the rod and head are raised, the thirdj can in the series and-blockit from rolling down. nected with the opposite arms of the same or canbe of different shape and differently guided, as desired, withoutdeparture from my invention.

With the upper sides of the cross bars or heads N and P provided withthe inclined faces of the same inclination as the chutebottom it is notnecessary that they should descend below such bottom in order to takethem out of the path of the cans down the chute. They can, if desired,be given just` movement enough to take them down, so that their inclinedfaces will be flush with'b'ut not below the upper face of thechute-bottom. Extending downward from the arm d opposite to that nearestthe lower end of the chute I is a` second inclined chute I2, with highsides I3, adapted to guide a filled can as it is discharged from thesupporting-arms-CZ d down to and upon the usual inspectiont-able R,where the cans areV inspected to see if they are properly filled beforethey are passedon to be capped.

The operation of my can-feeding mechanism is as follows: Vith a quantityof cans placed in the chute, which can be of any desired lengthcrean-holding capacity, and with the stop-heads L" and N" raised andengaging the lowest and neXt to the lowest can, respectively, thestop-head P. is down out of the path of the third can, and the clampingor can-holdingleverF is swung back, so as to take its can-engaging heador plate F out of the path of the 'end of a can rolling down upon arms dd. swung down, the bar Lwill descend to remove its head L' from the pathof the lowest can, allowing such can to roll down into place upon thereceiving and supporting arms'd d. At the same time by the swinging ofthe lever` M, engaged as described by lever G, the head N is depressedtorallow the second can to roll down into the place just vacated by thelowest one, and the other head P is raised to engage the' third can andhold itand all the rest above it back'. As the lowest can -rolls intoplace on the arms d d', the clamp- As the two rods N and P are con-IIf'now the lever G be with its open mouth over opening d in such plate.As soon as the can is filled the lever G is raised again, causing,through its engagement with the collar or shoulder H on rod H, the leverF to be swung back to disengage its clamping-head from the can. Therising of lever G causes the bar L and head L thereon to rise up underthe filled can, so that the incline on such head engages the can on theside toward theA chute I and away from discharge-chute I2. As the head Lrises it will then both lift thefilled can from its bed upon arms cZ dand will roll it over into the chute I2, down which it descends to theinspection-table. The can next to the one just filled and discharged nowrests against and is securely held from rolling down by -the head L.As'the lever G rises to lift such head, as just above described, the

movement of lever M, due to the action of its spring M depresses the rodPand stop-head P and raises rod N and head N.V The cans previously heldback by head P then roll down until checked by the engagement of thelowest one of them' with the head N. The parts are now in position .asat first, and so that at a second movement of lever G a can will bereleased and fed down into place for filling at once.

, The feeding operation described can be kept up continuously als longas cans are supplied to the chute without any care or handling of thecans by an attendant after they have been placed inthe chute.

The lever G, or `any other equivalent operating device for the parts ofmy feed mechanism, can easily be connected in any desired way with amoving part or parts yof the canfilling machine, so that after eachcan-filling motion of the plunger my mechanism will be automatically setin operation to discharge the filled can and feed another into place forfilling.

As shown in the drawings, the operatinglever G has its end weighted, sothat when it has been moved to operate the feed devices it will returnto its original position again; but I do not intend to limit myself tosuch a construction or arrangement.

A spring can be used instead of the weight, or the lever can be moved ineither or both directions by any desired positive means.

If.v desired, I contemplate using instead of the inclined trough downwhich the cans are caused to roll by the action of gravity a horizontaltrough through which the cans may IOO be present or forced in anysuitable way,

whether by a spring, weight, or other device.

Having thusdescribed my invention, what I claim isl. In a canfeedingmechanism for use with can-filling machines, in combination with thetrough along which the cans are passed on their way to the filler, apair of simultaneously-acting stops adapted, respectively, to engage theend can and the one next to it, a stop adapted to engage the third canin the trough, and means for causing the simultaneously-acting pair ofstops and the third stop to operate alternately, substantially as andfor the purpose described.

2. In combination with the trough along which the cans are passed, astop at the end of such trough, a lever to raise and let fall such stop,the two alternately-acting stops at different distances from the troughend, a lever engaged by the tirs't lever, suitable connections betweenthe alternately-acting stops and the opposite arms of the second lever,and the springactuating the latter, substantially as and for the purposeshown.

3. In combination with the ltrough, the stop at the end thereof,consisting of a head on a rising and falling bar, a lever upon whichsuch bar rests, a second lever, a spring holding such lever up againstthe first lever, and the two alternately-acting stops at differentpoints in thel trough, consisting of heads on rods connected withopposite ends of the second lever, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

4. In combination with the can-receiving support of a can-fillingmachine, the inclined can-containing trough, a movable can-stop at theend of the latter, adapted to engage the lowest can in the trough and toeject a can from the can-support of the filling-machine, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified.

5. In combination with the can-receiving support or holder of acan-filling machine, an inclined can-containing trough leading down tosuch support and a movable can-stop at' the end of the trough having theinclined face to engage a can resting on the can-.sup-

port of the filler as the stop is moved into position to engage and stopthe end or lowest can in the trough, substantially as and for thepurpose shown.

6. In combination with the can-receiving support of acan-iillingmachine, the inclined can-containing trough leading down to suchsupport, the two simultaneously-acting lower movable stops adapted,respectively, to engage and stop a can at the lower end of the troughand a can next to such lowest can, a third can-engaging stop situated ata point in the trough above such lower stops, and means for moving thelower stops together and carrying them and the upper stop alternatelyinto and out of operative position, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

7. In combination with the can-receiving support and the can clamping orholding lever of a can-iilling machine, alever connected with theclamping-lever so as to actuate the same,

an inclined can-containing trough leading down to the can-receivingsupport of the filler, feed-stop mechanism to allow the passage of thecans one at a time from the trough, and connections between such stopmechanism and the lever for actuating the can-clamping lever,substantially as and for the purpose shown.

' In testimony that I claim the foregoing I l have hereunto set my handthis 21st day of llune, D. 1889.

GEORGE D. LANING.

Vtitnesses:

HENRY J. CRoUsE, GEORGE vW. HALL.

